Family day care vs a childcare centre: which is right for your child?

At a glance

What's the same

People sometimes think family day care is informal babysitting. It isn't. Family day care and centres are both:

• regulated under the Education and Care Services National Law and assessed against the National Quality Standard;
• required to follow the Early Years Learning Framework (and in Victoria, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework);
• staffed by educators with at least a Certificate III in early childhood education (or actively working towards it), first aid, asthma and anaphylaxis training and a Working with Children Check;
• bound by Victoria's Child Safe Standards; and
• approved for the Child Care Subsidy, where the service holds CCS approval.

In family day care, each educator belongs to an approved service, like Five Stars Learning, which assesses their home, monitors quality and visits regularly.

Advantages of family day care

• Smaller groups. At most four children under school age with one educator. Babies aren't one of twelve in a room.
• One consistent carer. Your child bonds with one person, which helps babies and toddlers who find separation hard.
• A home setting. Real kitchens, gardens and quiet corners. Sleep and meals can follow your child's routine.
• Siblings together. A baby, a kinder-aged child and a school-aged sibling can all go to the same educator.
• Flexible hours. Many educators start at 6am, finish late, or work Saturdays, which centres rarely offer.
• Pay by the hour. Useful if you only need 7 or 8 hours a day rather than a full centre session.
• Fewer illnesses. Fewer children means fewer bugs passed around.

Advantages of a centre

• Staff cover. If one educator is away, care continues. In family day care, ask what happens when your educator is sick or on leave.
• A bigger peer group. Lots of same-age friends, which some older preschoolers love.
• More facilities. Large playgrounds and dedicated rooms, though many family day care homes have big gardens too.
• Funded kindergarten on site. Some Victorian centres run a funded kinder program. Family day care children can attend a sessional kinder alongside care, and many educators do the kinder drop-off.

Which costs less?

Often family day care, but it depends. Centres in Melbourne's south-east commonly charge a daily fee in the $130–$170 range. Family day care educators set an hourly rate, and because the 2026–27 subsidy cap for family day care is $14.08 an hour, many educators price close to that so families' gap stays small.

The biggest difference is how you're charged. A centre usually charges for a full day even if you only use eight hours. Family day care usually charges for the hours you book. Check what each option includes, such as meals, nappies and excursions, before comparing. Our guide to family day care costs has a worked example, and the CCS calculator estimates your gap.

Babies, toddlers and school-aged children

Babies and young toddlers often do especially well in family day care. The low numbers, the home setting and one main carer match what they need most: a secure attachment and routines that follow their own sleep and feeding.

Three- to five-year-olds thrive in either. Some families combine family day care with a sessional kindergarten program for their four-year-old.

School-aged children can't attend a long day care centre. Family day care covers before and after school and holidays up to age 12, often with the same educator as their younger siblings.

How to decide

Visit both if you can. In a family day care home, ask:

• What does a typical day look like?
• How many children, and what ages, are in care on the days I need?
• What's included in the fee, and what are the policies on holidays and absences?
• What happens when you're sick or on leave?
• How do you share my child's learning and day with me?

Trust your instincts about where your child seems relaxed and happy.